Investigating molybdenum’s sulphur scavenging ability for MoS2 formation in preventing pitting corrosion of stainless steels

Abstract

Abstract The addition of Mo enhances pitting corrosion resistance in 304L stainless steel. However, there is no consensus on the underlying mechanism. One possible explanation is that molybdenum converts sulfide to stable MoS2. This study investigates the effect of MoS2 inclusion on the corrosion of 304L stainless steel by introducing both MnS and MoS2 using spark plasma sintering. The reduction of MoS2 to Mo is observed during the sintering process, contradicting the assumption that the sulfide inclusions can be stabilised by forming MoS2. Therefore, MoS2 formation cannot explain the improved corrosion resistance of 304L stainless steel with the addition of Mo.